Method of producing boron alloy

Abstract

A process for making a boron alloy from a ferrous or non-ferrous melt by adding a boron compound to the melt and reducing the compound within the melt by a reductant, such as aluminum, silicon or carbon, such that the boron can alloy with the melt. A boron alloy containing from very little boron up to 15% boron by weight can be formed. At least 40% of the boron compound is reduced to boron. The alloy can also be employed to make an amorphous material by discharging the molten alloy onto a moving surface to form a strip. The moving surface is a chill body which can quench the strip at a rate of at least from 10 4 ° C./sec, or higher to solidify the strip and form an amorphous boron alloy material.

What we claim is: 
     
       1. A process for producing a metallic melt having from about 1.4%-15% boron by weight, comprising: providing a metallic melt containing an exothermic reductant capable of reducing a boron compound;   adding a sufficient amount of said boron compound to said melt to achieve the desired melt having at least about 1.4% boron by weight; and   vigorously mixing said melt and said boron compound to acheive and sustain substantial equilibrium, to reduce said boron compound and alloying boron therein with said melt, and to produce said metallic melt having less than about 0.2% carbon and less than about 0.01% aluminum, by weight.   
     
     
       2. The process of claim 1, wherein said reductant includes at least one of aluminum, silicon, titanium, calcium, magnesium, zirconium and a rate earth metal. 
     
     
       3. The process of claim 2, wherein said reductant is at least one of silicon and aluminum. 
     
     
       4. The process of claim 3, wherein said reductant is 1/3 aluminum and 2/3 silicon. 
     
     
       5. The process of claim 1, including adding fluxing and slagging agents to the melt. 
     
     
       6. The process of claim 5, wherein said fluxing agents are one or more of calcium fluoride or alumina, and said slagging agents are lime and silica. 
     
     
       7. The process of claim 5, wherein said boron compound is added simultaneously with said fluxing and slagging agents to said melt. 
     
     
       8. The process of claim 1, wherein said boron alloy is further treated to form an amorphous material. 
     
     
       9. The process of claim 8, wherein said further treatment includes depositing said boron alloy in the form of a molten strip onto a moving chill body, and solidifying said molten strip by quenching said strip at a rate of at least about 10 4 °  C./sec. 
     
     
       10. Process of claim 1, carried out in a substantially non-oxidizing atmosphere. 
     
     
       11. The process of claim 1, wherein said boron compound is at least one of boron oxide, boric acid, borax, calcium metaborate, colemanite, rasorite, ulexite, probertite, inderite, kernite, kurnakovite, and sassolite. 
     
     
       12. The process of claim 1, wherein about 2.5% to about 4.6% boron is alloyed with said melt. 
     
     
       13. The process of claim 1, including the step of adding slagging agents comprising lime and silicon to said melt. 
     
     
       14. The process of claim 1, wherein at least 40% by weight of the boron in said boron compound is alloyed with said melt. 
     
     
       15. The process of claim 13, wherein said boron compound is added to said slag in an amount sufficient to constitute from about 5% to about 25% by weight of said slag, after reaction in the melt, calculated as boron oxide. 
     
     
       16. The process of claim 13, wherein said melt is formed by melting ferrous scrap and combining with lime, boron ore, and at least one of ferro-silicon, aluminum or carbon. 
     
     
       17. The process of claim 16, wherein said ferrous scrap is melted in an electric furnace, transferred to a mixing vessel and combined with said lime, boron ore, and at least one of ferro-silicon, aluminum and carbon, and wherein said vigorous mixing includes at least one of gas bubbling, magnetic stirring, and mechanical mixing. 
     
     
       18. The process of claim 13, wherein said boron compound is simultaneously added with said slagging agents. 
     
     
       19. The process of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of said slagzing agents and said boron compound are premelted and premixed before adding to said melt. 
     
     
       20. The process of claim 13, wherein said slag contains 10 to 18% Al 2  O 3 , 25 to 35% CaO, 25 to 35% SiO 2 , 5 to 15% MgO and 5 to 25% B 2  O 3 , by weight. 
     
     
       21. The process of claim 20, wherein said slag contains 15% Al 2  O 3 , 30%, CaO, 30% SiO 2 , 8% MgO and approximately 17% B 2  O 3  by weight. 
     
     
       22. The process of claim 21 wherein said vigorous mixing achieves and sustains substantial equilibrium between said melt and said slag. 
     
     
       23. The process of claim 1, wherein the boron compound is a slag containing B 2  O 3 . 
     
     
       24. The process of claim 23 wherein said vigorous mixing achieves and sustains substantial equilibrium between said melt, reductant and boron compound and boron containing slag. 
     
     
       25. The process of claim 1 wherein the boron alloy contains less than 0.002% nitrogen by weight. 
     
     
       26. A process for forming a low carbon, low nitrogen content metal from a metallic melt having nitrogen comprising: adding an exothermic reductant to said melt capable of reducing a boron compound;   adding said boron compound to said melt; and   vigorously mixing said melt, exothermic reductant and boron compound, to reduce said boron compound to boron and to obtain a low carbon, low nitrogen content metal, said metal having from about 1.4%-15% borons less than about 0.2% carbon, less than about 0.01% aluminium, and less than about 0.004% nitrogen, by weight.   
     
     
       27. The process of claim 26, wherein said nitrogen in said metal is less than about 0.002% by weight. 
     
     
       28. The process of claim 26, wherein said process also includes the step of: depositing said low nitrogen content metal, in molten form, on a fast moving surface of a chill body to form a strip; and   rapidly quenching the molten metal at a rate of at least about 10 4  ° C./sec to form an amorphous metal having a low nitrogen content.   
     
     
       29. The process of claim 28, wherein said nitrogen in said amorphous metal is less than about 0.002% by weight.